


Inked Petals

by memorywolf



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Florist!Elrond, M/M, background erestor/glorfindel, background haldir/celeborn, background thranduil/bard, elrondir, fluffy cuteness i hope, hence haldir and celeborn, hot single dad!elrond, i really like background relationships, ink and petals AU, tattoo artist!Lindir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-01 08:39:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memorywolf/pseuds/memorywolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The common Ink and Petals AU. Lindir works in the new tattoo parlour a few shops down from Elrond's flower shop. They meet and things get set into motion.<br/>I just really wanted elrondir in this AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. So there already isn't enough elrondir out there, and most certainly not enough AUs for them and fluff cuteness. I got excited and wrote this, if somebody does read it i'll add more :)  
> "Talking"  
> 'thinking'

It wasn’t even noon yet and Elrond was already sighing in exasperation while listening to his shop assistants bicker like an old married couple. Elrond was very grateful he had Erestor and Glorfindel in his employment, they were very helpful and efficient in their work, and he was even happy for them for being able to confess their undying love for each other but sometimes working with a pair of lovers meant said lovers having a lover’s spat in the middle of _his_ shop. 

He cleared his throat loudly, he stared them down with stern eyes when both assistants’ looked over at him. “If you want to fight, by all means fight, but please do it outside the shop, I _do_ have work to do and customers to serve.” 

Erestor and Glorfindel both apologised to their boss with guilty eyes and with a last glare sent to each other, went back to working on opposite sides of the shop. Elrond sighed, this was just like dealing with Elladan and Elrohir when they fought –which was rare but it does happen-, he went back to arranging the flowers on the stand for a customer. 

He beckoned to Erestor to continue his work when the bell signalling a customer rang. And here he thought his morning wouldn’t get any worse, in walks trouble on legs. The man that walked in had tattoos literally all over every available space on his skin that was visible over his black t-shirt and jeans. ‘Well, if he was trouble at least he’s a very good looking trouble. Are those even jeans or are they those leggings that teens prefer?’ Elrond thought as he gave his customer a concealed once over while welcoming him. 

“Welcome. What can I do for you?” Lindir walked nervously into the flower shop he saw on his way to work. Haldir’s tattoo parlour opened a week ago, Lindir had had to settle a few problems with the moving of his things from his old house to his new condominium therefore not being able to start work on the opening day itself. The only reason he wasn’t fired was because Haldir and him were good friends and if he wasn’t being humble, Haldir really needed his steady hands for his parlour. 

He had come into the flower shop hoping he could get some thank you flowers for Haldir, or anything at all to be honest, he knew how much his friend liked all things nature, and also because he was late to work. And now he was nervous because he thought florists were supposed to be sweet nice young women, not deviously handsome men with long dark hair and eyes that looked like they had stars in them and not to mention _that body_ , what business did florists have to stay so fit? He took a moment to compile his thoughts, shoving away the images of writhing under the gorgeous man’s body, and asked for what he was looking for.

“Um, yes. Do you have flowers that say ‘thank you’?” Elrond did not know what to expect but it certainly wasn’t the clear hesitant voice that reached his ears. He paused only for a moment. Now that he looked closer, it wasn’t as if the face and voice didn’t match, he supposed the tattoos had given him a different impression of the clearly fidgeting young man in front of him. 

“We do. Is it for a friend or a lover?” 

“Ah, a friend.” Elrond started listing off the flowers that he had in mind for the man to choose, pointing to the flowers he mentioned, it was only when he stopped to wait for his customer’s reply that never came, that he looked back to him. The guy was clearly distraught, his eyes were wide with confusion and an inkling of fear, mouth stuttering, trying to pick a flower. Elrond’s bad mood softened at the adorably timid display, he smiled at the young man kindly. 

“It’s alright, people tend to get overwhelmed with the amount of choices. How about I mix a couple of the choices, would that be alright?” Lindir thanked any gods above that the strikingly good looking man did not grow annoyed with his fidgeting, he couldn’t help it, nervousness in front of strangers was a trait he was born with, probably inherited from god knows whoever his parents were. 

“Yes, thank you.” Elrond could see the man’s shoulders visibly sag, he chuckled to himself quietly as he turned to pick the flowers. He never knew a man with that many tattoos could be so adorable, he was like a frightened puppy, he was sure Elladan and Elrohir would have fun teasing the skittish man. 

Lindir dug into his pocket to pick up his phone when he felt it vibrating, it was probably Haldir. 

“Hello?” _“Lindir! You’re late! Where are you?”_ “I’m at the flower shop a few shops up.” _“What are you doing there? Are you buying flowers for a new boyfriend? Why haven’t I heard of this?”_ “You haven’t heard of him because he doesn’t exist. And stop whining, I’m getting you a present.” _“Awww! Are you getting me flowers Lindir? So thoughtful of you. I’m going to kiss you when you come in!”_ “You can keep your kisses for Celeborn. It’s just for helping me out last week, and also because I woke up late this morning.” _“Well, you didn’t have to. I’d have a spot for you in my shop even if you were a year late. I’ve got a customer, I’ll talk to you later, bye.”_

“Was that the receiver of the flowers?” Elrond didn’t usually make small talk with his customers while he was wrapping flowers, but he wanted to hear more of that voice and at least talking would his help his customer from squirming in silent discomfort while Elrond wrapped the flowers for him.

Lindir was surprised to hear the man’s baritone voice directed at him. “Ah, yeah. He helped me out some bit the last week with moving problems.” Lindir walked closer to where the florist was wrapping up dark pink roses and some other flowers he didn’t recognise in brown paper. He liked watching the man work, his finger were deft and quick, he had obviously been doing this for a very long time. Lindir felt his cheeks heat up as he thought of other things those fingers could be doing, particularly to him. He banished those thoughts, reprimanding himself in his head. 

“Did you just move here?” Elrond asked as he spared a glance up at the man who looked more at ease now, he did spot a light flush on his customer’s cheeks, he wondered what that was for. 

“Yes, my friend just opened a new tattoo parlour a few shops down from here and he asked me to join in, so here I am.” 

“Ah, Lothlorien tattoo parlour! I had passed it by a few times. If it weren’t for the tattoo designs on the wall I’d have thought it was a café.” Truthfully he passed by the shop more than a few times, almost daily, either to get to his car or when he was in his car. It wasn’t the usual dark dingy shops most tattoo parlours looked like, in fact it wasn’t dark at all. The walls and reception area was mostly made up of white washed wood, the floor was a smooth cement and there was a few green designer sofas probably for customers to use as a waiting area and the inside was well lit with hanging bulbs, all in all, it had a very pleasant ambience. 

Lindir chuckled, “Haldir, my friend, is very obsessed with nature, he never agreed with the usual darkness of tattoo shops, hence, he opened his own shop and designed it however he wanted.” Lindir could agree with Haldir’s choice of décor, but if it weren’t for he and Haldir’s brothers’ insistence that it was impractical to have wooden walls inside the little separate rooms, he was pretty sure Haldir would have quite the mould problem a few years down. They had instead settled on painting the walls a gentle cream colour. 

Elrond hummed in reply as he finished off the flower wrappings. “There we go. That would be 75. I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Elrond.” 

“I’m Lindir.” Lindir gave the man a small smile when he handed over the cash. Elrond smiled back at him as he handed back the receipt and flowers. “Thanks for the beautiful flowers. I hope to see you around.” Elrond replied in kind and watched as his adorable customer walked out of his shop with his flowers in hand.

Lindir smiled dreamily as he walked towards the tattoo parlour, he really did wish to see the man around, and maybe go on a date or two, a walk in the park, maybe some kissing and necking, Lindir had a stupid grin on his face when he walked into work. 

“My flowers!” Haldir exclaimed as Lindir presented it to the fair-haired man over the counter. Haldir thanked his friend and set the flowers down by the vase he had prepared. “What’s with that grin on your face?” he asked upon seeing Lindir grinning like a fool.

Lindir coughed into his hand and quickly calmed himself down, “Have you been by the flower shop?” 

“Yeah, I haven’t been inside though, why?” 

Lindir grinned, “The florist is gorgeous.” Was all he said as he walked to his assigned tattoo room, ignoring Haldir’s shouts for him to further explain. There was nothing to explain. Lindir had just met a beautiful man and he hoped and prayed to whatever entities were present that fate would finally be kind to him and let him get closer to said florist, and maybe, just maybe, he would know love again.


	2. Surprise Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little surprise invitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like muscle tees, my country is hot all year round so you understand. but sadly my unsightly body means i can't wear it, so i have made use of Lindir's lean muscles for sexy muscle tees. Lindir is 26, Elrond 37, Elladan and Elrohir 8, Arwen 5. The age gap seems a bit too big but i don't know, my original idea was for elrond to be 35 and lindir 27, but i dunno, tell me what you think.

They don’t meet again until two weeks had passed since their first meeting despite Lindir’s efforts every morning. Lindir had been diligently walking by Imladris Flowers everyday when he went to work, but every time he peeked in through the glass windows, Elrond doesn’t notice him, so he sulks and continues on to work hoping that he would finally be noticed the next day. Their next meeting makes Lindir wonder what the gods were playing at, because usually under such circumstances, meeting the second or third day was unavoidable, but for Lindir it had taken _two weeks_ , if it weren’t the gods and fate playing tricks on him, he really didn’t know what it was.

Lothlorien Tattoo Parlour was gradually gaining fame in the neighbourhood, granted that there weren’t that many people that wanted any part of their bodies pierced or tattooed, but with Haldir and Lindir’s name came their regulars from far and wide, just for their skills with the needle. Lindir usually ended work at 9 at night, but today business was slow and they had no more bookings after 5, so Haldir had let Lindir off early, leaving all the walk ins to their new hire, Feren. 

Lindir leaned back against the side of the lift, sighing in delight at the cold comfort the metal sides offered to his exposed skin. Today had been particularly sunny, he had opted for a faded black muscle tee, displaying the tattoos on his sides all the way to his waist in all their glory, and white washed ripped jeans, plenty of holes for airy breeze. He supposed going to work with slippers wasn’t exactly professional, but as long as he was hygienic then who cared what he wore. He shoved at the hair that was falling out of his high ponytail, annoyed that it was bothering his eyes. He sighed as he mentally prepped himself for a trip to the gym, he had been neglecting going since he moved, if he put it off anymore, whatever little muscles he had was going to start to disappear. 

He shuffled his feet heading to his unit. He didn’t know if that day was particularly sunny -he really preferred the rain- because the gods were suddenly in a cruel mood, or maybe it was just him that was really disappointed for being ignored two weeks straight by the handsome florist, he supposed it was a little of both, but what happened next may just pick him up off his slump. 

He looked up as his neighbour’s door opened. He had never seen anyone go in or out of the unit next to his, he would have assumed it was empty if not for the noise of children that passed from their balcony to his every night. To say he froze on the spot would not be an exaggeration, for the face that appeared before his was that of whom he had wanted to meet most for the past two weeks. 

“Ah.” Elrond paused in front of his doorway, staring into the face of his adorable customer from before. “Hello. Lindir right?” He was amused to see the tattooed man freeze for a moment before a flush came to his cheeks and he replied him.

“Yes. Elrond right? You live here?” God, Lindir wanted a bus to run over him. Obviously the man lived there, he was right at his doorstep for goodness sake. He suddenly became very self-conscious of how he looked with his hair haphazardly thrown up and dressed like some hobo, he couldn’t figure out if this was a good day or a bad day anymore. 

“Yes. This is my unit.” Elrond gestured into the open doorway. “Do you live here too?” He looked to the young man who looked as if he wanted the ground to part and swallow him up.

“Yeah, I live right next door.” He managed to give a chuckle, amused at the fact that they had never met until that day, a full two weeks after he moved in. 

Elrond’s eyebrows rose, it was curious indeed, that they had never met. He knew that someone new had moved in but he had never expressly went to greet his new neighbour, and they never seemed to leave or enter their units at the same time. “I wonder why it is that we have never met.” 

Lindir shrugged, “Maybe we both have bad timing.” And speaking of bad timing, Lindir’s stomach grumbled in protest of being empty. He flushed a bright red and placed a hand on his stomach as if doing so would make it shut up. 

Elrond looked down in surprise at the sound of hunger from his neighbour, then he laughed. “I take it that you haven’t eaten dinner.” He watched, amused, as the man with pink tinted cheeks shook his head shyly. Then an idea came to him. “This might be sudden, but would you like to have dinner with me? It’s only my family of four. It’ll be a dinner to get to know our neighbour.” He encouraged the young man to accept. 

Lindir was distraught. He was still processing the invitation to dinner when another fact had sprung upon his face. He never expected Elrond to already be married and have already fathered children, it was sort of a blow to his heart because of the attraction and hope he had to the older man. It was when he noticed that the silence was way too long that he stuttered his answer. “Uh, sure, I mean- thanks, that is, if your wife doesn’t mind, it being sudden that is, unexpected dinner guest.” 

Elrond gave a slight smile to the stuttering man, the mention of his blessed passed wife saddened him, but he already had five years to deal with his anguish, he had already accepted the fact and decided to live on despite it, for his children. “It’s only me and my children. They would be more than delighted at a new friend.” 

Lindir saw the shadow that fell over the florist’s eyes, combined with his words, Lindir could only come to two conclusions, and both of them made him feel absolutely horrid for having mentioned it. “If they don’t mind.” Lindir gave the man a kind smile. 

“Delightful. Now, I’m heading down to the stores to get some eggs, we’re having fried spaghetti with bacon and eggs tonight.” Elrond turned to shut his door and lock it. 

Lindir then realised that he smelt like soured milk, having walked to and back from work under the hot sun. “I’ll just go and get cleaned up and come over.” He grinned sheepishly at the florist who laughed when he saw the state the man was in. Elrond shooed Lindir with his hands and they parted ways. 

Lindir stood under his shower spray, thinking over the conversation he had a few minutes ago. He was quite sure he could cancel the thought that he might ever ever, however impossibly tiny his chance was, to get the man, because he was married, no matter if the wife had passed or was divorced, he was married-or ex-married- to a lady and he had kids. Maybe he was bi, his mind whispered to him. Lindir laughed out loud at that. With the luck he had, he was pretty sure the gods or fate wouldn’t allow it. 

He sighed as he leaned his head on the glass wall of his shower, he supposed, even if he can’t find love, being friends with Elrond would be good enough. The florist seemed like a nice person, not to mention they were neighbours, being on friendly terms with your neighbour was good right? Yes. Definitely. It wasn’t that he just wanted to see his face more and get to know him more, it was purely because they were neighbours, so baking for him and buying little gifts during his overseas trips were nothing out of the ordinary. Yes. Yes. 

Lindir banged his head on the glass. Who was he kidding, he was literally having daydreams of dating the man, seriously, he really ought to stop this now. “Friends.” Lindir told himself later on in the mirror after his shower. “Only friends.” He scolded at himself. 

He dried off, did all his moisturising -tattoos don’t look good on dried skin, mind you- and stepped out of the bathroom. Going over to his closet, he wondered what neighbours wore to eat at each other’s houses. Maybe a t-shirt and shorts would do. Would it? Maybe something more smart casual. Maybe a flannel, but it was _so hot_. Did Elrond use his air conditioning? What if he didn’t and Lindir sweated like a pig in his long sleeved flannel? Letting out a sound of frustration, Lindir grabbed a hipster short that was on the top of his shorts pile, it was sky blue, and a black sleeveless hoodie. He paused. Would the kids be afraid of his tattoos? Lindir groaned. 

He groaned again when he looked to the wall clock to find that he had been standing stark naked in his closet for fifteen minutes, five more minutes and it would be half an hour since Elrond’s invitation for dinner. He quickly slipped his hoodie over his head and pulled on the shorts. A quick glance in the mirror and tying his hair half up later, he was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you want to read later on, like fluff wise. Comments are very welcomed and spur me on to write :)


	3. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your comments! Reading them makes me want to write more for this fic :) I update fast because i'm currently not occupied with anything, waiting for college, plenty of time on my lazy hands. It gets a little sad at the end but no worries, happy times will come later. :) Goodness, having to put the html for cursive in one by one is tiring, i hope i didn't miss out any.

Lindir now stood outside Elrond’s door. After giving himself a pep talk and banishing all inappropriate thoughts, allowing himself a few deep breaths, he rang the bell. He only had to wait a few moments, hearing muttered shouts through the door, and the door opened to Elrond with his hair gathered at the base of his neck, a brown apron with tiny galloping horses on it over a fitting black shirt and cream brown sweatpants. Lindir suddenly felt over-dressed. 

“Come in, welcome to my humble abode.” Elrond laughed to himself as the lean man’s eyes went over his getup, he was feeling fairly casual, it wasn’t as if he looked like a slop, oh no, he knew fairly well how good he looked in his shirt, and for some reason he wanted to make the young man blush, it was very adorable. 

“Um, your kids, you don’t mind the tattoos right? I mean, it’s okay if you want me to cover up or something. For the kids. The tattoos showing I mean. Right.” Lindir personally would never do this for anyone else, if they didn’t want their kids seeing his tattoos then he had no business being friends with parents of said kids anyway. But well, Lindir _really_ wanted to be friends with Elrond, so somehow violating his personal code was somehow okay because the man standing in front of him was a really _really_ hot single father that cared for his body and had beautifully mesmerising eyes and sold flowers _God Damn!_ Lindir really needed to calm down his internal monologue, he barely knew the man _for Valar’s sake!_

Elrond waved his hand in front of his face and set his features as if to tell the shorter man ‘Pfft! As if I care.’ “No no not at all.” He smiled when Lindir let out a breath and smiled back thankfully. He shifted his body to allow the tattooed man to enter, he locked the door then lead Lindir in. 

Elrond hadn’t even needed to give Lindir a tour of his duplex, it had the mirrored layout of Lindir’s own duplex unit. The first thing he laid eyes on was the sofa in shades of cream brown, soft velvet material, it sat in front of a square low profile coffee table that was settled upon light grey shaggy carpet. There was a black marble rectangle dining table further back, surround by cream coloured chairs. Further back was the balcony. To the side of the dining table was the white island table and four bar stools, behind said island was an open kitchen. The unit was covered in bright light bouncing off three white walls and one cream coloured one, which the telly was attached to. Lindir had a feeling cream brown was a favourite of Elrond’s. 

Lindir glanced over the room, then his eyes landed on three pair of grey ones directed at him. “Kids, this is Lindir. Lindir, this is Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen.” Lindir gave what he hoped was a pleasant smile to Elrond’s children. Lindir wasn’t very good with kids, having been closing himself off his whole childhood, he never knew what to do when faced with children, other than smile pleasantly at them that is. He gave a little wave, “Hello.” 

Upon hearing his voice, Arwen ran to hide behind her brothers, as her father was right beside the stranger with many drawings on his arms. “Kids, be nice to Lindir.” Elrond gave a little wiggle of his finger before he dashed to the pot that was bubbling over. Lindir stared at the children who stared back. 

He sighed and sat down cross legged on the soft rug. “It’s nice to meet you, Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen.” He smiled as cutely as he could, kids like cute right?

“Are you friends with Ada?” One of the twins asked, they had to be twins, Elrond hadn’t even pointed out whom was whom. “Yes I am. I bought a beautiful bouquet of flowers from your Ada once.” Lindir wondered if the kids understood his words, how was his vocabulary when he was around their age? He really couldn’t remember, he had barely spoken to anyone when he was that age. 

“Ada’s flowers are pretty!” Arwen exclaimed with joy from behind her brothers. Lindir smiled at the sweet little girl, “Yes they are.” When silence once again fell over them Lindir looked down onto his hands, then a thought came to him. “You wanna see something?” He asked all three of them in general, but it was little Arwen who answered. “Whats it?” 

“Flowers.” Lindir twisted his body around, so the back of his right shoulder was displayed to the children. He pointed at his water-colour tattoo of a tea rose and yellow rose entwined together, he had gotten that with Haldir, it was a symbol of their friendship, that no matter what, they would always be the best of friends. Arwen creeped out from behind her brothers to take a closer look. 

She gasped when she saw it. “Why’d you draw on you? Ada always say no!” Lindir chuckled then leaned in closer to the girl, “You can do it when you’re grown up, like your Ada and I, okay?” he mock whispered to her. Arwen’s eyes widened, then she giggled a high pitch. Lindir then noticed that the twins had both came closer to him, inspecting his tattoos. Lindir laughed inwardly, who knew his tattoos that he had almost covered up was the way to go with entertaining children? 

‘What’s this mean?” One of the twins pointed to the tattoo he had gotten from a visit to Taiwan. “This is my name, in mandarin.” Before he could further explain, the other twin was pointing to another tattoo, asking for an explanation. It was a quote wrapped around his right wrist in cursive writing. “It means ‘thank you for the venom’ in french.” 

Elrond smiled as he heard his children’s curious questions about Lindir’s tattoos. He had never actually explained the concept of tattoos to them, mainly because he was waiting for Arwen to grow enough until she could understand, but also because the topic never came up. He moved the spaghetti from the pan into separate plates, “Dinner time.” With his one call, it scattered the kids from Lindir’s side as the twins rushed to the kitchen to take their own plates while Elrond took his and Arwen’s. 

Lindir waved away the apologetic look from Elrond who have raised both his hands, showing that it was occupied to take his plate. He went to the kitchen and picked up the plate along with a fork. If he had to be honest, it smelt delicious and in no way dissuaded his heart and mind from falling more for the man he barely knew. A handsome man who could cook, what’s not to like?

Dinner was a quiet affair, the silence punctuated with giggles from Arwen who, more than once, wiggled strands spaghetti around like worms. Lindir laughed just to amuse her, he stopped when Elrond told him it encouraged Arwen to make more of a mess than she was already making. Lindir felt bad then and spent the rest of dinner with Elrond trying to coax Arwen to eat her food rather than play with them. Elladan and Elrohir were well behaved, but Lindir had a feeling that the reason Arwen was in such a playful mood was because of her brothers. Lindir definitely did not see the faces they made when both Lindir and Elrond weren’t looking. 

When the kids were actually eating their dinner quietly, they made small talk. Lindir had told Elrond where he was from, how he got to do what he was doing now –his love for art was unrivalled- they found out they both had a deep love for books. And if Lindir took this opportunity to tell Elrond he had one of the rooms in his unit converted into a small library and had invited him over someday, it was only because they were on the topic and having friends with the same hobbies was fun. Yes, very fun indeed. Definitely not because he wanted to invite the man over for wine, and also to get his number. 

He stayed to look after the twins while Elrond bathed a messy Arwen and got her ready for sleep. It had been awkward at first, until they had asked what he did everyday at work. Wanting to sum it up to something eight year olds could understand, he had simply said, “I poke holes in people with needles and put paint on their skin that doesn’t come off.” Which had turned into a discussion of blood and medical stuff that Lindir didn’t think eight year olds were supposed to know of. 

“How many do you have?” they pointed to his piercings. “Ten.” He didn’t even have to think, he always kept count, waiting to add one more to the count. “But there’s only eight.” Elladan said as he stared at Lindir’s ears. Lindir finally was able to get their separate names, but whether they told the truth or not remained to be seen. 

“Ah yes, there’s only eight in my ears.” He ran his fingers down both his ears, feeling the metals of his earrings. They asked where the other two were. Lindir laughed, “You’re not old enough to know yet.” 

“Not old enough to know what?” Elrond asked as he heard the last of the younger man’s answer. He had put Arwen to sleep with a story about elves and horses, his daughter really loved happy endings. He noticed Lindir’s cheek tint in pink before he bit his lips and coughed, he wondered what they were talking about to evoke such a reaction. 

Lindir coughed into his hand. He had a very vivid fantasy of telling Elrond just where his last piercings were and there was a lot of moaning involved and _oh no stop thinking._ He really should stop this daydreaming wherever he was thing, and also his big crush on the single father. “Nothing much.” 

Elrond raised his eyebrows at Lindir in disbelief but let the matter slide anyways. “Boys, it’s time for bed.” His sons whined protests about not being sleepy but one glare from him sent both running up the stairs to their room. He heard the clear voice laugh at that, it brought a smile to his face. 

“Would you like to stay for some wine?” Elrond offered. He didn’t feel like parting from the young man yet, he wanted to talk more, get to know Lindir and the little things in his life, his hobbies, likes and dislikes, he was just so interested for no reason at all. 

“A glass of wine on the balcony under the moonlight, how romantic.” Lindir didn’t know where his courage came from and he really wish it had never come in the first place, that was really not something he should say on their first _neighbourly_ dinner. 

Elrond felt a little spark at that, he quickly laughed it away. “It’s relaxing to sit back and talk with you, is all.” He explained, trying not to imply anything untoward to a man 11 years his junior, he really shouldn’t. But Lindir looked at him with such adoration that no matter how much the younger man tried to hide it he could still see it. But he could also do nothing about it. 

He liked Lindir, even though it was only the second time that they had spent any amount of time together. He liked talking to him, teasing him, laughing with him, seeing him blush, it gave him a feeling he hadn’t felt in years, ever since Celebrian passed. But he also had his duty as a father to tell Lindir that he shouldn’t be looking at a man who already had three children like that, that he should go after someone young without anything to tie him down. 

Lindir moved his gaze away from Elrond’s eyes when he saw the conflicted feelings flicker across those grey orbs, he didn’t want to hear it from the man himself. Suddenly he felt sombre and the idea of whatever they had hanging over their heads while they sip wine and talk of simple things wasn’t that appealing anymore. “It’s getting late, we both have work tomorrow.” He stood up, waiting for Elrond to do the same so he could politely leave the older man’s house. 

Elrond sighed, he recognised a rejection for what it was, he then nodded, “Yes, I suppose it is time to turn in. Good night Lindir, I’ll see you around.” Elrond gave him a gentle smile as he saw him to the door. 

Lindir turned around, wanting to say something more. He felt as if it were lacking, like there was something more to this than just a mere goodbye and good night and maybe he should tell him about this thing that was slowly building between them, that if Elrond could feel it and if he wanted to they could explore it, Lindir needed to know, but he found he could say nothing, so he stuck to the mere goodbye and good night. 

That night, Lindir tossed and turned on his bed, wondering if perhaps his gaze lingered a little too long and maybe he looked a little too adoringly at Elrond. Did he know? He had to know. Lindir could see it in his eyes, as if he was dealing with something he himself was struggling with. Maybe he was finding a way to break it to him that his feelings were not returned and he was disturbed by the way Lindir looked at him. Was Elrond that cruel to say that? Lindir didn’t know, he hadn’t even spent twenty-four hours with the man. They haven’t even started to discuss all the deep things in their heart yet. And maybe they wouldn’t. But Lindir hoped they would. Because he wanted desperately for something to happen, not caring that he was much older than him and had kids. Because he had already fallen too deep to be able to climb out by himself anymore. He was well and truly fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments are loved and i may not reply to everyone but i love all comments all the same :)


	4. Advice for Elrond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elrond gets advice from a few good friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this chapter is a little small thing. Just some people helping Elrond along in his moral crisis, telling him to suck it up and do it instead of moping around like some sad puppy. Oh yes, Lindir's piercings, i have something planned for that ;)

Elrond never saw Lindir after that day, their daily schedules still not allowing them to meet each other by their unit doors. In the days since, he had went to meet with his friend who was in a kind of almost relatable similar situation as his, except Thranduil didn’t have the guilt he felt. 

Thranduil was a widower and he had a son. He had mourned the passing of his wife in an accident the same way Elrond had mourned the death of his wife in childbirth. They had bonded over it and became close friends, their children frequently going over to each other’s houses for sleepovers. And it was only recently that he had gotten himself a boyfriend. 

Elrond had never met said boyfriend but Thranduil talked about him enough. The only thing different was that Bard was also a widower, he had children, he had already lived past that juncture of his life and had moved on to another, while Lindir was still young and maybe he wouldn’t get a wife or children, but he was still young and hadn’t had as much experience in life as them, and it would be wrong for Elrond to take away the chance for Lindir to get a fresh young man with no ghosts to haunt his pasts. 

Elrond mentioned as much to Thranduil. He got a smack over the back of his head for his efforts. “You’re an idiot. Let me make this simpler. Do you like him?” His friend stared hard at him. 

“We only met twice, that’s hardly eno-“ “Do you like him or not?” Thranduil cut him off, refusing to allow Elrond to use time as an excuse, fate and love waited for no one, they both had experienced that personally. Elrond sighed and nodded his head. 

“Does he like you?” Thranduil continued to ask. 

“How would I know? I’m not him.” His friend stared at him incredulously, “As if you can’t see. If you didn’t know then you wouldn’t be here asking me for advice in the first place.” 

“Okay fine! Let’s say he does. What business does an old man have meddling with a 26 year olds’ life?” Elrond shook his head. 

“You’re not taking away his chance at a simple love story when he himself chooses not to take it.” Thranduil wanted to strangle his friend at his stubbornness. Why couldn’t he just accept the fact that they both fancied each other and go out like any other normal couple? Why did Elrond had to suddenly uphold his moral and push away someone who could actually make him smile like he hadn’t ever since Celebrian had passed?

“It’s not as if you would forget Celebrian. I know you wouldn’t, because I didn’t. You will remember her as the mother of your children and someone you loved. Loving someone else won’t replace her in your memories, Elrond.” 

“I know I would never. But he is still young.” Thranduil passed his hand over his face while sighing his lungs out. “I won’t even bother trying to persuade you anymore. Why not you go and ask him yourself? Ask him whether he would rather find some other young guy to snog and buy flowers for or if he would rather try exploring his love with you, don’t take away his choice. You have a right to choose, yes, but he is entitled to his own choice.” 

Truthfully, Elrond could understand what his friend was trying to tell him, he just didn’t want to listen. He wanted to take the easy way out and ignore the growing feelings he had for the young man and go on with his life as he usually did, with himself and his precious children. 

“What if my kids don’t like him?” 

“They seemed to like him well enough on your impromptu dinner.” Elrond had told him of the dinner, Thranduil would have just asked them to kiss already. “I don’t know Thran, it’s just, I just don’t know.” Elrond sighed in exasperation, he felt so drained thinking about all these, he had made more than one mistake during work, which was the reason he was sitting here consulting in his friend in the first place.

Thranduil took a moment to think, then a grin spread across his face when a brilliant idea came upon him. “Why not let your kids decide?” Elrond, upon seeing the grin on his friend’s face, knew some evil scheme was in planning. 

\-----

“-oss. Boss. Elrond!” Elrond jumped, startled from his employee’s shout. “What?” He batted away the hand that was being waved in front of his face by his golden haired friend. 

“Are you alright? You’ve been out of it a lot lately.” Glorfindel asked. Elrond had always been a diligent worker, never getting to work late and never leaving early unless absolutely necessary, him spacing out even once was a very big deal. 

“I’m alright. Just got a lot on my mind recently. Did you call me for something?” Glorfindel looked at his boss sceptically but let the matter slide. “You’re arranging the wrong bouquet.” 

Elrond looked down at the flowers in his hand. He hadn’t even known he was arranging a bouquet, his mind was indeed in a whole other place while his hands had moved from muscle memory. 

“He’s right. You haven’t been very attentive lately. Just yesterday a customer came in asking for a graduation arrangement and you gave her a wedding one instead, you were lucky no customers were here when you made the funeral flowers.” Erestor piped in from behind him. 

Elrond blushed, he remembered that. Erestor had been quick thinking enough to whip up the graduation bouquet when he saw that Elrond’s mind had wandered away yet again. 

“And here you are now arranging a love bouquet when you’re supposed to be making the congratulatory one, the customer is coming in 20 to pick it up. I’ve never seen you so out of sorts, what’s up?” Erestor said as he peeked over Elrond’s shoulder, checking his progress of the flowers. 

Glorfindel grinned, “I think I know. Did someone fall for a certain adorably shy long haired tattoo artist that works a few shops down? I certainly could have seen sparks fly the other day when he came in.” Erestor looked at his boyfriend in confusion, scrunching his eyebrows trying to recall what his lover was talking about. 

“The day we fought about who forgot to put the cat outside.” Glorfindel supplied when he saw Erestor struggling to recall the certain event. Erestor then let out an “Oh.” He then looked at Elrond, contemplating, then he grinned and nodded. “I approve. You both would look good together.” 

This caused Elrond to gawk at his usually serious friend. Did he look so lonely that even his employees were encouraging him to pursue the younger man? “Elrond! You old dog!” Glorfindel laughed. Elrond glared at him.

“In all seriousness though, you should give it a chance. It’s been too long since Celebrian passed, you can’t be alone forever.” Erestor had now pushed aside his work to look at Elrond with his ‘I’m saying this because I care for you’ face.

“And don’t say he’s too young or you’re too old. I mean, look at Thorin and Bilbo. He’s like 35 and Bilbo’s 25, their relationship is just as loving as any other couple. Granted that Thorin’s a jerk and we have no idea why Bilbo likes him, but that’s not the point. The point is that you’re both consenting adults and you both like each other, so why not?” 

Elrond sighed. Glorfindel looked at his clearly distraught friend, he and Erestor had always wondered when Elrond would meet someone new, but they knew how much he loved Celebrian and how devastated and destroyed he was when she passed, they would never force their friend to do something he wasn’t ready to do himself. 

But now things were different, Elrond no longer cried when he talked of Celebrian and for the first time since his wife, he showed interest in someone. Elrond was a good man and an even better father, he deserved all the happiness he would get. If Elrond was going to be an idiot and push away his chance then Erestor and Glorfindel would give their all to convince him otherwise. 

“Maybe.” Elrond smiled thankfully at his friend, who both sandwiched him into a hug. 

“All right, all right, back to work now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments as always are loved. They always make my day :)


	5. Neighbourly Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindir gets to bond with the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed Lindir and the kids to bond, i feel like they have to, if they wanted to be family. I personally am very bad with kids and i don't like them much, i literally smile politely and inch myself further away when near one, i have no idea how to handle them. It might have shown in my writing how bad i am with kids, here you go anyways :)

Lindir sighed dejectedly as he stared out the window of their shop. A pair of arms encircled him to a muscled chest, “Let me hug the sad out of you.” Haldir squeezed his friend and patted his head. 

Lindir smiled, he knew his friend was no good at finding words to comfort people, the only way he knew was to hug the person and let him indulge in whatever food he wanted, which was why Lindir was eating ice cream in the middle of work. “Thanks Haldir.” He patted his friend’s arm, a sign for him to let go. He pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrating. 

_I’m sorry to bother you, but I couldn’t think of anyone else to ask. Could you get off work early today? At around 6? I have urgent business that suddenly came up and I can’t pick up the kids from daycare, it closes at 6 and I don’t have anyone else that can pick them up, could you help?_  
_-Elrond_

Lindir reread the text. He supposed it was his neighbourly duty to help when in need. “Haldir, I’m going to take the evening off.” His friend looked at him curiously, he showed him the text. 

Haldir sighed, “He’s ripping your heart right out of your chest and here you are helping him pick up his kids.” 

“It’s neighbourly duty.” Lindir tried to explain, though it looked like Haldir didn’t believe him. “And also his kids did nothing wrong, they’re very sweet.” 

“Fine, take the evening off. Feren and I can deal with the rest of the customers.” Lindir landed a kiss on Haldir’s cheek in thanks. 

_Sure. I’ll bring them over to my unit and you can pick them up when you’re done?_  
_\- Lindir_

_I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know when I’ll be done though. I’ll pass you the keys to my unit and you can bring them there. Could I bother you further to put them into bed if I get home too late? I’m really sorry about all this._  
_\- Elrond_

_I’ll go over to your shop to pick up the keys later. And don’t mention it, neighbourly duties after all :)_  
_-Lindir_

\-----

Picking up Elrond’s keys had been a short affair of touch and go, the flower shop was filled to the brim with stands and decorating papers of all kinds, Elrond and his assistants were harried-looking while their hands worked like the wind blew, it was a right mess. Elrond thanked him again and he reassured the man it was nothing. He had stopped by at the supermart for some ingredients to make mac and cheese, cheese never went wrong with children. 

The teachers at the daycare had looked at him warily, glancing at his exposed arms and the tattoos that littered all over it. They let him take the kids anyway because Elrond had made a call beforehand about the change in pickup, Lindir was glad, he wouldn’t know what to do if he ran into trouble. He carried the groceries in one hand and steadied Arwen against his side in the other, Elladan and Elrohir dutifully trailing close behind him. 

“Can the both of you watch your sister while I cook?” With two nods and a bop to each nose, Lindir left Arwen giggling in her brother’s arms while he proceeded to cook as quickly as possible, he knew they would be fine on their own but he didn’t want to leave them by themselves for so long.

Arwen had refused to eat by herself, whining to be fed. Lindir had given in and started feeding her while making train and airplane noises, prompting both twins to laugh, he then did it to them too, for Arwen’s enjoyment. He then played their toys with them, making up stories about dragons eating the prince and saving the princess, toy car races, watching them draw with their crayons and colour pencils -Arwen had been delighted at his ability to draw their faces as more than stickmen- until they all tired out. He let the boys have their baths first, letting them stay up a tad bit more while he bathed a tuckered out Arwen. Then he tucked them all to sleep, singing a song to lull them into their dreams. 

He went back to his unit to take a quick shower and changed into more comfortable clothes, an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, throwing his hair up into a bun before he went back to their unit. He didn’t dare to leave them alone for too long, in case something happened. He would stay until Elrond got back then he would head back to his room to sleep. 

He had brought his sketchbook over. He turned on some music and started drawing the flowers that Elrond had around the room. He could vaguely remember feeling his eyelids droop and maybe more than once his pencil slip from his grip. He did not notice his sketchbook slip from his lap onto the rug when he fell asleep on the couch. 

Elrond sighed tiredly as he opened the door to his unit, expecting to see Lindir watching telly or something, he did not expect the young man to be asleep on the couch looking absolutely delectable with the neck of his much too big shirt slipping off his shoulder and his midriff exposed where the shirt had ridden up, he could see the muscles hidden under the tattoos. Elrond quietly locked the door and walked over to Lindir, he intended to wake him up but his toes hitting something made him stop. 

He picked up the book and turned it over to see a beautiful drawing of Gardenia flowers, like the one he had on his coffee table. It was no surprise that Lindir could draw, he was a tattoo artist, he had to draw by trade. He wanted to flip through the book, look at his other drawings, see his works of art, he did stop think that maybe he shouldn’t, but he did anyways.

The starting of the book had all kinds of drawings, of people, animals, sceneries, tattoo ideas, squiggly lines, it was when he got to the few pages before the flower that he paused. There was a picture of him. At first he had thought it was quite normal, there were other pictures of people in the book, so he flipped past it and thought nothing of it. 

Then as he flipped he noticed he appeared more and more as a subject. And then there was one that made him stifle his laugh at how childish it was, it also brought into reality the thing he had been trying to avoid, the thing that was growing between them, and had been growing stronger regardless of the short amount of time they spent together. The drawing of him surrounded by hearts, as if it was drawn by a teenager with a crush, it made him realise that they had both been on the other’s mind ever since that fateful day they laid eyes on each other. 

He closed the sketchbook and placed it on the coffee table. Elrond sat down on the floor, looking at Lindir’s adorable sleeping face. He wanted to smooth his hand over his soft cheeks, kiss each eyelid and hug him close, he didn’t want him to leave. 

It was then he told-promised himself he would do it, but only if his children agreed. His children were his life, and having Lindir in his life would also affect his children, they would have a say in this whether they knew what it meant or not. He would ask them what they thought of Lindir, if they liked him or not, and whether they would mind him joining into their little family. If they said no, he would nod and close off his heart, he would rather himself hurt than his children. And if they said yes, he would let himself fall into the mess of love yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments thank you!


	6. Some more talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elrond has very understanding and mature twins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because i absolutely suck at writing kids, i hope they don't sound too much like adults. And also thank you for being patient with me :)

Lindir woke up to shouts and giggles and his bed moving. He groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes to the bring light of the room. “Lindir! Lindir! Did you sleepover with Ada?” Arwen’s voice pierced through his early morning haze. 

“Arwen?” He tried to sit up but was pushed back onto his back when the little girl threw her body over his middle. Lindir coughed as the air in his lungs left in a rush and a quiet “Ooof!” 

Though his breath had been forced out of him by Arwen, said girl’s uncontrollable giggling infected him and he laughed. 

“I wanna sleepover with Lindir next time!” Arwen tells him as he hugs her. It was then he remembered what happened the day before. He sat up and looked around, this certainly wasn’t the living room couch. “Is this your Ada’s room?” He asked the little girl tugging at his shirt to get herself upright and sit on his lap instead of being sprawled across it. 

“Yea.” He lifted Arwen into his arms then got off the bed, carrying her out of the room. When he reached the stairs he could hear the sound of a spatula scraping against a pan and smell the pancakes that were surely being cooked by Elrond. 

“Ada’s pancakes are the best! Do you like pancakes Lindir?” Arwen asked from her perch on his hips. “Depends. Does your Ada’s pancakes have chocolate chips?” Arwen stared wide eyed at him at that, then she wiggled around until he let her down, she ran to Elrond’s side. 

“Ada! Ada!” she tugged at his apron until he looked at her with a questioning hum on his lips. “Lindir says his pancakes have chocolate in them!” 

Elrond laughed, “Well sweetheart, you can tell him chocolate isn’t good for breakfast. Remember what I said about sweets in the morning?” He smiled at his daughter when she nodded then turned to Lindir who was now standing beside her. “Sweets in the morning gives us tummyaches, we shouldn’t eat chocolate in the morning.” She said it as if she was reprimanding him, Lindir chuckled and nodded.

“Alright, no sweets in the morning.” He promised the little girl who grinned. “Go and brush your teeth love.” Elrond ushered his daughter away, sensing that Lindir wanted to talk. 

“What time did you get back yesterday?” Lindir leaned on the kitchen table and snatched a pancake off the pile already stacked on a plate, he grinned at Elrond’s shout of protest. “You haven’t even brushed your teeth yet, seriously.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Around midnight. I found you sleeping on the couch, you looked so adorable that I didn’t want to wake you.” Elrond looked over, waiting for the sweet flush on Lindir’s cheeks to appear, he didn’t have to wait long. 

Lindir gawked, did Elrond just tease him? Apparently so because the older man was chuckling after he had seen Lindir’s blush. Lindir decided to ignore it, there were more important things at hand, like the mystery of how he got to Elrond’s bed. Goodness that sounded like he was trying to imply something else. “And what? How did I even end up in your bed? You could have just left me on the couch.” 

Elrond raised an eyebrow, “I carried you of course. Did you think you just somehow magically ended up on my bed? And if I had left you on the couch, you would be groaning and moaning about the crick in your neck by now.” Elrond had been surprised at how light the younger man was, or maybe it was because lunging around sacks of soil and sand and children had skewered his definition of what was heavy and what was light. Nevertheless, he liked how Lindir’s skin felt against his palms, soft and smooth like he never saw the sun. He must take care of himself a lot, Elrond could appreciate that. 

Well, to be very honest, Lindir had tried his very best not to think of the possibility of being carried by Elrond –even though it was literally the only possibility because seriously, how else was he supposed to arrive at the bed, get dragged on the floor like a sack of potatoes?-, not to mention there was literally only one way to carry a sleeping person without jostling them and that made Lindir blush right to the tips of his ears. Lindir didn’t know whether to wish he was awake for that process and being so _close_ to Elrond and generally just skin to skin contact oh god, Lindir groaned inwardly, his mind would be very occupied for the next few days. 

“Ah.. Well, thanks I guess, then. But where did you sleep then?” Elrond turned off the stove and picked up the plate of pancakes and several empty plates, “On my bed of course.” He said to Lindir before he brushed past the stunned form with very pink cheeks to get to the dining table. He grinned when Lindir couldn’t see him, he was having a bit too much fun teasing the younger man. 

Lindir knew he looked like a tomato then. He realised that the man was only teasing him, he could see the blanket thrown over the back of the couch when he turned around, but just thinking of sleeping next to Elrond, god, that was very sinful of him to think. He needed to bleach his brain when he got back. Maybe take the day off and just sit there staring off into space, analyse deeper into Elrond’s pleasant behaviour. 

“I’ll break a rule and let you eat before you brush your teeth. You can go back and do your morning routines after I’ve fed you.” Lindir gladly sat down and waited until the whole family was there before they started eating. He felt, odd. It was all so domestic. He never felt like this when he ate with friends, or even Haldir, who was like a brother to him. It was literally the first time he felt like a family, doing homely things and talking about what they did the day before, it was all very sweet. It made him kind of wonder why eating with his foster families when he was a child never felt like this, he really wished this wouldn’t be the last time he felt this. 

Elrond had then thanked him again and offered him a ride to work. Lindir would have refused because Elrond went to work earlier than Lindir, but then the thought of spending more time with the florist had beaten down his common sense and he had agreed. So he had went back to his house and freshened up, throwing on a white t-shirt with cute little cats on them and a pair of black leather pants, when he deemed himself good enough to eat, he left the house. 

The moment he walked through the doors of the Tattoo Parlour he was hounded by questions from Haldir and Feren –he had gotten quite close to the guy who looked like he was exasperated with life- about the man who dropped him off. He raised both his hands in surrender. 

Haldir grinned and pulled him to sit at the sofa, “Tell me all about it.” 

\-----

Elrond cut up the chicken on Arwen’s plate then handed her the fork, she needed to learn to eat on her own. As his little sweetheart focused on trying to stab the chicken, he turned to his boys. 

“Was hanging out with Lindir fun?” Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other at the sudden question. Usually during dinner time their father would ask about what they did that day, if they needed help with homework, the normal stuff. They shared a knowing look, they were very smart for eight year olds, they had their father to thank for that. 

They both nodded then launched into talking about how he cooked for them, played with them, told them stories and about the places he’s been, and that he tucked them in before singing them to sleep. And it was no lie to say that they really did like Lindir, he was fun to tease and play pranks on, and he never scolded them afterwards. And also because he could tell them apart, that was an added bonus. 

Elrond smiled to himself listening to his boys recount what they had done with Lindir the day before. He was glad because Lindir had looked worried and awkward the first time he left his kids with him, he was relieved to know he had not put the younger man in an awkward and uncomfortable position. 

“Whens Lindir gonna visit again?” Arwen asked from beside him. He looked to her and wiped off the sauces around her mouth with a napkin, “I don’t know darling, do you want him to visit again?” He didn’t even need to ask his daughter if she liked Lindir, that much was evident when her face lit up in a bright smile at the mention of Lindir visiting again. 

“Yes yes! He tells good stories and he sings really good Ada! Have you heard him sing?” Elrond filed that fact away for another time. “Ada’s sad now, all of you have heard Lindir sing but I haven’t.” He pouts for his little girl who cries out and tells him not to be sad.

“I’ll ask Lindir to sing for you when he visits again!” Was her simple solution to her Ada being sad, which made Elrond smile and place a kiss on her forehead. 

It was later on when he had put his children to bed and was sitting up on his bed reading that something happened he never would have guessed would happen. 

He looked up from his book when he heard his door creak open to reveal identical faces. “Elladan, Elrohir, what’s wrong?” He had already tucked them in earlier on, why were they still up? 

Both twins entered the room and climbed onto the large bed, each settling down on one side of their father. Elrond hugged both his sons close, wondering what was going on, he waited patiently for them to speak. 

“Ada, do you still love Nana?” Elrond looked down at his eldest son with barely concealed shock, what had brought this on? “Of course I do, Dan’. Why do you ask?” 

Both twins were quiet, looking at each other over their father’s chest, silently conversing. Then they finally looked up at him, “Lindir is nice.” 

Elrond sighed, obviously his twin sons would figure out what was going on, they were very perceptive of things around them. So instead of playing like he didn’t know what they meant, he asked them what was on his mind ever since the day before. “Do you mind that I love someone other than your Nana?” 

They both shook their heads. Elrond let out a sigh of relief. “Do you mind Lindir joining our family?” They shook their heads again. 

“We like Lindir, Ada. He’s nice to us and Arwen. And he makes you happy.” They added at the end. Elrond felt his mouth spread into a smile, trust in his children to know what makes him happy. 

He hugged them both and planted a kiss on each forehead, “Thank you darlings. It means very much that you all would do this for me. Know that I will love your Nana and all of you the same.” And with that, Elladan and Elrohir deemed their mission accomplished and curiosity sated, they headed back to bed with happy smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Future chapters won't be so quick, gotta edit my shitty writing and maybe stop giving you boring stuff and at least try to give you something more interesting. sorry i'm so easily distracted.


	7. Conclusion in Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dinner, wine, and some revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk, i already had this pre written and it just didn't sound too write a month back and i couldnt figure out how to fix it, now that i have, i'm posting it :)   
> and also i'm sorry i dont know how to write dates, it would be cute to see them on one if anyone else ever writes it :p

_Would you like to have dinner this Friday? The kids are having a sleepover at a friend’s house.  
-Elrond_

Lindir stared at the text, rereading it again and again, trying to make sure he had read what he actually read. He gave himself a pinch, when the stinging sensation was felt, he ruled out the possibility of this being a dream or fantasy. 

He supposed he should reply back, but he set aside his phone and went back to work, he’ll check it again later to see if the text was actually real. That later happened to be three hours later, in which Elrond had fretted like a teenager afraid to be rejected, but Lindir didn’t know that.

_Sure. My house or your house?  
-Lindir_

Lindir had Haldir type that out for him, if his hands were on his phone he was pretty sure his text would be around the length of a short story, apologising for replying so late and having verbal diarrhoea on his phone. 

_I was thinking of going out. How do you feel about Japanese food?  
-Elrond_

His phone was still in Haldir’s grasp when Elrond’s text came, which was very unfortunate for Lindir but fortunate for Haldir who was very tired of Lindir’s pining and groaning about the man. Enlisting Feren’s help to hold back the slight Lindir, he typed out the reply and sent it right before Lindir snatched his phone back.

_Like a date?  
-Lindir_

Lindir wanted to bury his best friend. He would bury him, then proceed to bury himself. He jumped when his phone started vibrating. He stared at his ringing phone, Elrond was calling him. Why would he call him? Weren’t they sticking to texting? Was it because of what Haldir typed? Oh god, Lindir dreaded, what was Elrond going to say to that? He picked up his phone at last.

“Hello?” _“Yes.”_ Lindir paused, what did he just say? “What?” _“I said yes, it is a date.”_ Lindir was very stunned, happy, but stunned. “Oh.” There was silence on the line.

_“If you would like it to be, that is. If not, it could be just a dinner between friends.”_ “A date!” Lindir said a little too quickly, “I would like that. A date, that is.” He heard Elrond chuckle on the other end of the line.

_“A date it is then. I’ll pick you up outside your door at 7. Is that all right?”_ “7’s good, yeah.” Lindir was sure Haldir looked more excited for the date than Lindir was. 

_“Alright then, I’ll see you Friday, bye.”_ “Bye.” He was still quite stunned after the call was finished. He wasn’t expecting this, after what he had seen the other day, he thought Elrond would be pretty adamant at keeping him at a friend’s distance, but now he was asking him on a date? Lindir was very confused. 

“He must have come to his senses about how much of an absolute catch you are, he was a fool to have tried to keep you away anyways.” Haldir had replied nonchalantly to his wonderings. He supposed only time would tell. 

\-------

Lindir finished off the loose plait he had manoeuvred his hair into, sweeping it over one shoulder. A shirt and leather pants, it was casual enough but not too sloppy, right? Lindir looked himself over a couple more times, wondering if he should change to a t-shirt or maybe a pair of jeans. His outfit was decided for him when the doorbell rang. 

“Totally calm, not going to freak out, I am beautiful and delectable, this will all go swimmingly, right.” He told himself in the mirror, then he headed down to the door. He was greeted with the sight of a very handsome neighbour and a bouquet of flowers. He swooned. 

“Good evening Lindir.” Elrond smiled at the younger man, “I thought you’d like them.” He passed the flowers over to Lindir. 

Lindir giggled gleefully inside his mind, the perks of dating a florist. 

“They’re beautiful, thank you.” Lindir accepted the flowers with a quick smile and a hand motioned for Elrond to wait for a minute. He went back in and placed the bouquet in a vase then went back out. “Good to go.” 

The date in and of itself had been pleasant and short, both wanting to get out of the crowded restaurant and had retreated back to Lindir’s unit at his offer of wine and a visit to his mini-library. The most interesting thing Lindir had found out about Elrond was that he knew how to _ride a fucking horse._ Lindir didn’t think there were still people learning that kind of stuff in this day and time, this man was fucking precious, he thought. 

They were currently sitting on his library couch sipping wine and talking about their favourite books, when Elrond decided that it was time to broach harder subjects. 

“Lindir, I must ask you something.” Lindir cocked his head to one side, “What’s up?” They had been chatting happily about the perks of having a cat around, the sudden change in topic and the seriousness in Elrond’s voice made Lindir nervous. 

“I know you feel this thing that’s been hanging between us, and I know I want more, I can only hope you do too. But before you answer me, I want you to think about it.” He paused and waited for Lindir to nod before he continued. “You’re young, I’m a widower with children. Being with me means being with my children too. If you want someone with nothing to hold them down, I wouldn’t begrudge you from finding that in someone else.” 

Lindir opened his mouth to talk but Elrond held up a hand as if asking him to wait, but Lindir didn’t want to wait, he batted Elrond’s hand away. 

“Don’t say anymore. Did you think I’ve never thought of it? Well I have. It feels like every waking moment since I’ve met you I’ve been thinking of you. I don’t want someone else who’s easier and simpler to date, my life has never been easy nor simple, and I don’t care. What I care about is you, I don’t want anyone else, I only want you.” He stared hard at Elrond, daring him to say otherwise.

Lindir then smiled gently and grabbed both of Elrond’s hands in his, “And your children too.” 

And in that moment Elrond was filled with so much love for Lindir he felt he could burst. This young soul who so readily declared that he would love him for the foreseeable future, the determination in his eyes, it was enough for Elrond.

With his eyes filled with happy tears, he pulled Lindir close to lay their foreheads together, he placed both palms on Lindir’s cheeks, “Thank you, for giving me a chance, for loving me.” He stared deep into Lindir’s gaze, “I love you .”

Lindir could feel his own eyes well up with tears, never would he thought that he’d fall so deep in love with a man whom he’d only known for a short while, it was baffling to say the least, but it didn’t matter, he would cherish this love he had found, he would love with all his heart and hope for the best. 

Lindir leaned forward and closed the gap between their lips, tasting the sour of wine on Elrond’s lips. Their kiss was slow and soft, a sealing of their love, there would be other times for hard and rough. 

When they pulled apart and had opened their eyes again, Lindir smiled with so much love and happiness. He was feeling dizzy with the emotions, he couldn’t keep it in himself, if Elrond felt he could burst, then Lindir had already melted into a puddle of emotions. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't the end though, i have more still, theres all the fluff and cute perks of dating a tattoo artist (✿ฺ◡ฺ‿ฺ◡ฺ)   
> (i couldn't write them before because i was overwhelmed with age-gap angst, you know i really just wanted to get over the angst but i'll feel really sloppy and dishonour my family if i dont write it properly.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://petalsofelrondir.tumblr.com/


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